Hong Kong stocks tick up as new coronavirus cases drop

Hengan International

11/02/2020 09:02

* Hang Seng rises 1.3%, H-shares up 1.5%
    * No. of daily new coronavirus cases falls
    * Alibaba slips after report it will be excluded from
StockConnect

    HONG KONG, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares rose on
Tuesday as the pace of new coronavirus infections in mainland
China slowed, providing some respite to investors in the city
and across the region.    
** The Hang Seng Index  .HSI  climbed 1.3% to 27,583.88 points,
their highest since Jan. 24. H-shares  .HSCE  rose 1.5%.
** The Hang Seng sub-index tracking the energy sector  .HSCIE 
rose 0.8%, the information technology sector  .HSCIIT  gained
1.3%, the financial sector  .HSNF  was also up 1.3%, while the
property sector  .HSNP  firmed 0.9%.
** There were 2,478 new confirmed cases in mainland China on
Feb. 10, down from 3,062 on the previous day, bringing the total
to 42,638.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AB02I
** The top percentage gainer on the Hang Seng was Geely
Automobile Holdings  0175.HK , up 5.7%, while the biggest loser
was Hengan International Group  1044.HK , down 2.3%.
** Shares of e-commerce giant Alibaba  9988.HK   BABA.N  dropped
2.5% in Hong Kong after a Bloomberg report said the company will
not be allowed to join the Stock Connect trading link, which
grants mainland China and Hong Kong equity investors mutual
access.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AB11Q    
** China's central bank should consider lowering its benchmark
deposit rate to enable banks to reduce lending rates and help
small businesses weather the economic fallout from the
fast-spreading coronavirus, a central bank advisor said.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AA2JV
** "Adjusting for modest earnings growth downgrade, a further
7-8% index decline from present index level will present a very
compelling entry opportunity," Union Bancaire Privee said in a
note this week.
** Investors will also be keeping an eye on remarks by U.S.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at a Congress testimony
later on Tuesday.  FED/DIARY 

 (Reporting by Noah Sin; Editing by Aditya Soni 
)
 ((Noah.Sin@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2841 5782; Reuters
Messaging: noah.sin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter: https://twitter.com/noah_sin))